Jake Taylor likes to get creative on Tuesday mornings.

The Notre Dame attackman wakes up and heads to Riley Hall on campus in South Bend, Indiana, where he steps into the Riley Hall Metal Shop and throws on flame-resistant clothing, goggles, earplugs and a face shield to begin channeling his artistic freedom. From 9:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m., Taylor gets lost in the world of metal sculpting. He has created a number of pieces, including his most recent one — a sword that he brought to his management class to show it off immediately after finishing it.

“You have grinders, cutters, a bunch of tools, different types of saws,” he said. “It’s just about building your own projects based on a few requirements. It’s an option for a lot of creativity, which I thought was a great opportunity.”

When Taylor walked into the metal shop this Tuesday, he was greeted with hugs from Notre Dame women’s lacrosse players in his class and a couple more congratulations. Taylor was the talk of campus following his historic display Saturday, when he scored a school-record eight goals in a 22-6 victory over Syracuse in his first career start — a game that felt like a must-win for Notre Dame.

Taylor’s performance was sure to make waves in the lacrosse world, but it was how he scored those eight goals that made him a weekend sensation. He went behind the back for his second goal, netted a backhand shovel for his third and whipped a beautiful around-the-world shot for his fifth goal. All in the first half.

“I could believe it was happening, but I couldn’t believe it at the same time,” Taylor said. “I was so excited and full of emotion. I was so loose, but calm and so happy at that time. I was so grateful to be out on the field that day.”

Notre Dame knew what it had in Taylor, the All-American from Denver who played in just four games during parts of the 2020 and 2021 seasons, but hadn’t seen his skills come to fruition. In need of a spark, the Fighting Irish looked to Taylor, and he delivered.

“He remained confident in his abilities and took advantage when his time came,” goalie Liam Entenmann said. “The whole team is happy because of his perseverance. He showed up in a big way when we needed him.”

For Taylor, the performance was a long time coming and the peak of a journey that has had his share of valleys.

The son of former Denver men’s lacrosse player Sean Taylor, he developed as a player under the tutelage of his father and Pioneers coaches Bill Tierney and Matt Brown. Taylor picked up many of his skills in the box, learning how to deceive goalies with moves like the behind-the-back and around-the-world.

By high school, Taylor was one of the top club players in Colorado with Denver Elite, and he was garnering interest from top Division I schools. He originally committed to Denver, intending to play for his father’s alma mater, but flipped his commitment to Notre Dame two years later.

“It was a really hard decision to make and I was agonizing over it for a while,” he said. “There’s no knock to Denver. I landed at Notre Dame because of the opportunity to get away from home, among a lot of other factors.”

Taylor headed to Notre Dame as one of the top recruits in the class of 2019, hoping to make an immediate impact. He played in just two games in 2020 before the season was canceled due to the pandemic. He scored his first career goal, in behind-the-back fashion, in a win over Bellarmine on March 6, 2021. It was one of only two games he’d play last season, as he tore his ACL at practice just days later.

“I was on top of the world in my mind, similar to how I felt this weekend,” Taylor said. “I was dodging and took a weird step and just heard a pop. It was really difficult to get through that.”

Taylor’s recovery took the better part of 10 months. He said he did plenty of soul searching during that time. He couldn’t compete with his teammates, so he had to figure out who he was beyond lacrosse. He took a Spanish course, in addition to a Latino poetry class. He spent more time focusing on his studies, readying himself for life after he graduated from Notre Dame — anything he could do to keep his mind active.

By January, Taylor knew he was close to 100 percent. He competed in full-contact practices during the week of Notre Dame’s season debut against Detroit Mercy, and by that Friday, he asked athletic trainer Mandy Merritt if he was ready to suit up.

“You’ve been going all week, full contact, haven’t you?” Merritt said.

“I was playing and back before I even knew it,” Taylor said.

Taylor scored two goals in the win over Detroit Mercy. He played sparingly in six of Notre Dame’s seven games before last week, when coach Kevin Corrigan and his staff inserted Taylor into the starting lineup to ignite an offense that stagnated in losses to Georgetown, Maryland, Ohio State and Virginia. He moved from the scout team to first-team attack ahead of the matchup with Syracuse.

“They wanted to integrate me into the practice lineup a little more,” he said. “Throughout the week, I was performing well enough to where they were willing to give me an opportunity. I wanted to do my best to take advantage of it.”

Taylor had pre-game jitters. His family couldn’t make the trip on short notice. He knew he had a chance to show what he could do for Notre Dame. Safe to say he proved his worth. He opened with the behind-the-back, scored in front of the crease and then delivered a backhand shovel that allowed him to relax.

“That was the goal that put a smile on my face and changed my mood entirely,” he said. “It let me calm down. It loosened me up and allowed me to know I was OK to be there and I didn’t need to be worried.”

With every goal, Taylor heard a roar from the Arlotta Stadium crowd. His teammates offered support in the huddle. By the second half, he had etched his name in the record book, breaking the program’s single-game goals mark.

After the congratulatory hugs and handshakes, Taylor reached for his phone in the locker room. He said it felt like his birthday, a barrage of texts and notifications — a total of 100 follow requests, 70-80 texts and several calls from unknown numbers. He got messages from friends and family. He even heard from his freshman-sophomore math tutor from Regis Jesuit High School, who was tutoring a student that mentioned Taylor’s big game in a full-circle moment.

“I have never gotten more texts than that day,” he said. “It was unbelievable.”

Taylor won’t go unnoticed on scouting reports for the rest of 2022, but he still knows he has to fight for his spot on this Notre Dame attack led by Tewaaraton Award candidate Pat Kavanagh (three goals and six assists Saturday) and his brother, highly-touted freshman Chris Kavanagh. That’s not to mention Griffin Westlin and Bryce Walker.

“I have to keep working and keep going at it,” he said. “There’s nothing saying that I can’t do it again, but there’s nothing saying that I will do that again.”

Just like he does when he enters Riley Hall Metal Shop, Taylor will suit up, step on the field and let his creativity take control — whenever or however the opportunity arises again.